The University of Maine women’s ice hockey team dropped both of their Hockey East conference games to the No. 1 Boston College (BC) Eagles at Kelley Rink in Chestnut Hill, Mass. Maine was shut out on Friday night, losing 6-0, then dropped a 4-1 decision Saturday. With the wins, the Eagles have clinched the WHEA regular season title for the second straight year.
Black Bears Shut Out
The first game of the two game series did not fare well for the Black Bears, as they were shut out by the Eagles, 6-0.
BC began the scoring in the first period, when Eagles first-year forward Toni Ann Miano passed the puck to her linemate third-year forward Dana Trivigno who was crashing the net. Trivigno tipped the Miano pass past Maine goaltender Meghann Treacy to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead. Maine would hang on for the remainder of the period, and BC would go into the intermission with that 1-0 lead.
The Eagles would add to their lead in the last three minutes of the second period. After the Eagles gained the zone, third-year forward Alex Carpenter held the puck to the glove side of Treacy, and despite the pressure by Black Bear fourth-year forward Jennifer More. Carpenter slid the puck through the slot to a wide open first-year forward Kenzie Kent who fired the puck past Treacy on the stick side to give BC a 2-0 lead.
The third period would be dominated by the Eagles who would score four goals. The first goal was scored by Miano after the Black Bears failed to clear the zone just 50 seconds into the period. As Maine second-year forward Emilie Brigham tried to clear the zone, Kent played the body and knocked the puck loose. Miano intercepted the puck at the top of the slot and fired a shot through traffic that beat Treacy low on the glove side.
BC would score again at the 2:14 mark off a faceoff in the offensive zone. Trivigno would win the the face-off back to first-year defenseman Kali Flanagan who took a wrist shot from the right point, that beat Treacy high to give the Eagles a 4-0 lead.
Maine first-year defenseman Mikayla Rogers took a penalty for tripping at 7:31 of the period. Eagles third-year forward Haley Skarupa scored her 26th goal of the season on the ensuing power play just 23 seconds later. Carpenter held the puck at the blue line, and then passed it over to Trivigno, who took a shot from the top of the far circle. Her shot found its way to Skarupa through traffic in front of Treacy, and Skarupa was able to get a piece of the puck and it slid past Treacy for BC’s fifth goal of the night.
BC would cap the scoring in the last minute of the game, when second-year forward Haley McLean followed up on a rebound to give the Eagles a 6-0 lead. McLean took the initial shot from the far faceoff dot that was saved by Treacy. The rebound was collected by third-year forward Meghan Grieves that was also saved by Treacy, but that rebound went right to McLean who fired it into the net.
The Eagles dominated Maine throughout the game outshooting them 45-9, including a 17-1 third period. BC goaltender Katie Burt made all nine saves for her 25th win of the season. It was also her eighth shutout of the season. Treacy took her 14th loss of the season, making 39 saves in the process. Maine would go 0-2 on the power play while BC would score once on six chances.
Eagles Finish Sweep
BC continued their winning ways on Saturday, getting the 4-1 win against the Black Bears. The two teams battled through a scoreless first period, BC outshot Maine 14-3, and even hit the post, but Treacy held her ground between the pipes.
The Eagles would score the first goal of the game at 7:57 of the second period. After the puck was dumped into the Black Bear defensive zone, Trivigno collected the puck, made a move on the defender and then passed the puck to fourth-year forward Kate Leary who put the puck past Treacy to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
Carpenter would score just under two minutes later, that would eventually prove to be the game winner. Carpenter received a pass from Skarupa in front of the net, and was able to beat Treacy five-hole to put the Eagles up by two. For Carpenter, the goal ended a four game scoring drought.
BC would add to their lead at the 16 minute mark of the second period. After third-year defenseman Kaliya Johnson controlled the puck on the blue line, she fired a wrist shot towards the front of the net. That’s where second-year forward Andie Anastos was waiting in front of the net. She redirected the puck past Treacy to give the Eagles a 3-0 lead.
Maine would score their only goal of the weekend at 18:23 of the second period. First-year forward Brooke Stacey received a pass from fourth-year forward Katy Massey in the offensive zone. Stacy’s shot snuck past BC first-year goaltender Gabriella Switaj, who saw time in net after fourth-year goalie Taylor Blake saw time in the first half of the game.
The Eagles would get their final tally of the game late in the third period. BC would outshoot Maine 16-4 in the third, but Carpenter was the only Eagle to get one past Treacy. Carpenter would net the goal off a feed from Kent to round out the scoring.
BC would outshoot Maine again, 46-13. Maine would not get more than six shots on goal in any period. Treacy would make 42 saves in the losing effort, while BC would play two different goalies in the game; Blake starting the game making five saves in just over 27 minutes. Switaj would take over for the rest of the game, making seven saves in the final 32 minutes. Both teams would be unable to score on the powerplay Maine going 0-3 and BC going 0-5.
After the weekend, Maine would fall to 10-16-3 (9-9-1 WHEA) and will fall into a tie for third in conference with the Northeastern Huskies. The Eagles improve to 29-1-1 (19-0-0 WHEA) and will clinch the WHEA regular season title for the second year in a row.
Maine will take to the ice again on Feb. 21 and 22 to play the final series of the year against the University of Connecticut at Alfond Arena. Preceding game two there will be a ceremony honoring the six graduating seniors. Puck drops at 2 p.m. for both games.